square formation (of troops)
Military term for troops arranged in a square, often for defense.
To defend against the enemy cavalry, the soldiers formed a square formation.
Mathematical term; often appears as 魔方陣 (まほうじん).
See also: 魔方陣
A magic square is an arrangement of numbers where the sums of each row, column, and diagonal are all equal.
magic square
phalanx
Latin square
Standard kanji spelling for both military and mathematical senses.
Compound of 方 (ほう, 'square') and 陣 (じん, 'formation, camp'). The mathematical sense is a calque from English 'magic square'.